Scientific Representative of Sanofi.

Dr. Thomas Rooney is Head of Translational Research for Neurodegenerative Diseases in the Aging Therapeutic Strategic Unit at Sanofi.  Dr. Rooney received his BSc in Pharmacology from the University of Glasgow, UK (1984) and his PhD in Neuropharmacology from the University of Leicester, UK (1987). He then moved to Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, USA (1988-1998) where he was a postdoctoral fellow and then Assistant and Associate Professor in the Dept of Pathology and Cell Biology where he directed research focused on studying the organization of Ca2+ signalling at the subcellular level and the mechanisms by which growth factors and glutamate receptors regulate neuronal survival in the developing and adult brain. Since 1998, Dr Rooney has worked at Sanofi in Paris, France where he has headed research groups and drug development programmes focused on the treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease.  He also participates to several public-private collaborations and consortiums to accelerate R&D for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease and contributed to the JPND industry consultations during the preparation of the JPND Strategic Research Agenda.

Main publications:

  1. Rooney, T., Sass, E., and Thomas, A.P. (1990). Agonist-induced cytosolic calcium oscillations originate from a specific locus in single hepatocytes. J. Biol. Chem. 265, 10792-10796.
  2. Zhang, F.X., Rubin, R., and Rooney, T. (1998). N-methyl-D-aspartate inhibits apoptosis through activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase in cerebellar granule neurons: A role for insulin receptor substrate-1 in the neurotrophic action of N-methyl-D-aspartate and its inhibition by ethanol. J. Biol. Chem. 273, 26596-26602
  3. Itier, J.M., Ibanez, P., Mena, M.A., Abbas, N., Cohen-Salmon, C., Bohme, G.A., Laville, M., Pratt, J., Corti, O., Pradier, L., Ret, G., Joubert, C., Periquet, M., Araujo, F., Negroni, J., Casarejos, M.J., Canals, S., Solano, R., Serrano, A., Gallego, E., Sanchez, M., Denefle, P., Benavides, J., Tremp, G., Rooney, T, Brice, A., and Garcia de Yebenes, J.  (2003). Parkin gene inactivation alters behaviour and dopamine neurotransmission in the mouse. Hum. Mol. Genet. 12, 2277-2291.
  4. Petiet, A., Santin, M., Bertrand, A., Wiggins, C.J., Petit, F., Houitte, D., Hantraye, P., Benavides, J., Debeir, T., Rooney, T., Dhenain, M. (2012). Gadolinium-staining reveals amyloid plaques in the brain of Alzheimer’s transgenic mice. Neurobiol Aging. 33, 1533-1544.
  5. Santin, M., Debeir, T., Bridal, S.L., Rooney, T., Dhenain, M. (2013). Fast in vivo imaging of amyloid plaques using mu-MRI Gd-staining combined with ultrasound-induced blood brain barrier opening.  NeuroImage 79, 288–294.